Flush tank



May 5, 1942'.

J. w. MATTHEWS FLUSH TANK Filed Sept. 26, 1941 Patented May 5, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE FLUSH TANK 7 James W. Matthews, Alice, Tex.

Application September 26, 1941, Serial No. 412,494

(oi. 4-2e) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a flush tank for. toilets, one of the objects being to provide a tank sealed against overflowing and which is equipped with a valve under the control of a balance the operation of which is dependent on the rise and fall of the liquid level within the tank. 7

A further object is to provide valve mechanism which can be easily placed in or removed from position and the working parts of which can be made of glass or other easily molded material which will not corrode.

Another object is to utilize an improved means whereby a water seal can be maintained in the hopper following the flushing operation.

A still further object is to provide a controlling apparatus by means of which successive flushing operations can be elfected quickly by manipulating the lever or other means commonly employed for tripping the mechanism.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing Figure l is a vertical transverse section through the tank and showing the valve mechanism there- Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the tank showing the valve mechanism in plan.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section through the vent valve.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, l designates a tank of any suitable material, the top of this tank being normally closed and sealed by a lid 2 securely held in place as shown. An outlet 3 is provided in the bottom of the tank and seated therein is a bushing A projecting into the tank and having a lining 5 of glass or other suitable material forming a valve seat. A flush pipe 6 is secured to the bushing and is adapted to extend to a hopper in the usual manner. pipe is surrounded by a sleeve 1 communicating near its upper end with the interior of pipe 6 through a large opening 8 while a small opening 9 serves as a means of communication between the lower portion of sleeve 1 and the pipe 6.

In the present instance a portion of this Thus during a flushing operation, some of the released Water will enter sleeve 1 through opening 8 and fill the sleeve and afterthe completion of the flushing operation, the liquid content of the sleeve will drain slowly through the small opening 9 into the hopper so as to complete a water seal.

Brackets ID are formed on or secured to the inner surfaces of opposed walls of the tank and provide bearings for trunnions H extending in opposite directions respectively from a balance lever l2. The tops of the bearings are open as shown so that the trunnions can readily be lifted from or placed in the bearings.

Lever l2 has'a lifting arm it which extends over and beyond the outlet 3 and is provided, at its free end, with a pivotally supported stem M on which is mounted a container [5 held thereto detachably in any suitable manner. This container, as before intimated, can be made of glass and it is adapted to be filled with water, thus to act as a weight.

At a point between its ends the arm l3 has a rod [6 pivotally connected to it and depending therefrom so as to swing freely. To this rodis secured a valve I! which can be of rubber and which is adapted normally to bear tightly against the seat 5 The other tripping arm 18 of the lever carries a counterbalance I9 which is slightly heavier than the filled container l5 when the latter is submerged but is slightly lighter than the filled container l5 when the tank I is empty.

A shaft2ll is journaled in one wall of the tank and is provided at its outer end with a tripping handle 2| or the like while its inner end has a crank-arm 22 connected by a link 23 to the arm I8 thereabove.

A water-supply pipe 24 opens upwardly into the bottom of tank I while opening through the top of the tank is a vent pipe 25 provided with a Valve casing 26 at its inlet end. This casing has opposed seats 21 and 28 and a small ball float 29 normally bears on seat 21 so as to close it as shown. A needle-like pin 30 projects from the float and is normally spaced from the seat 28. When valve 29 is disengaged from its seat 2! as by water rising within tank I, the needle 30 will engage seat 28 and thus prevent the water from overflowing through the vent.

As before stated, when tank I is empty the container I5 which is preferably filled with water, slightly overbalances the weight l9 so that valve I! is held firmly to its seat. When water is admitted to the tank through pipe 24 it rapidly covers the valve I! and exerts a downward pressure thereagainst so as to bind it upon its seat. It also gradually submerges the container [5. During this operation air within the tank will escape by unseating the valve 29 and ultimately said valve will cause its needle 30 to close against seat 28 and thus prevent Water from escaping through the vent 25. With the tank thus filled it is ready for use.

When it is desired to flush a hopper the tripping handle 2| is shifted to cause arm 22 to pull through link 23 upon the weighted arm [8 of lever l2. This pressure will be sufiicient to break the contact between ball valve I! and its seat and as soon as that is done the container l5, being submerged, will rise under the slightly overbalancing action of the weight [9 with the result that valve I! will be held open as the water in tank I quickly escapes into the pipe 61. After the water in the tank has dropped to a predetermined level the container l5 will overbalance the weight 19 and cause valve ll to reassume its position on seat 5 where it will be held firmly by the inflowing water.

It will be noted that there is constant communication between the Water supply and the tank, that there is no danger of the tank overflowing under any conditions, and that the working parts can all be made of a material which does not require replenishing over a long period of years.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a sealed tank havihg a water inlet, a water outlet, a vent, and means for closing the vent under water pressure from within the tank, of a lever in the tank having a lifting arm and a tripping arm, a weight on the lifting arm positioned to be submerged,

a weight on the tripping arm constructed to overbalance the other weight when the latter is submerged but to be overbalanced by said other weight when the latter is not submerged, an out let valve connected to the lifting arm and positioned to be held normally closed by pressure of water in the tank, said valve, when held closed, constituting means for restraining the submerged Weight against actuation by the other weight, and means for forcibly unseating the outlet valve to release the submerged weight for actuation by the other weight.

2. The combination with a sealed tank having a water inlet, a water outlet, a vent, and means for closing the vent under water pressure from within the tank, of a lever in the tank having a lifting arm and a tripping arm, a weight on the lifting arm positioned to be submerged, a weight on the tripping arm constructed to overbalance the other weight when the latter is submerged but to be overbalanced by said other weight when the latter is not submerged, an outlet valve connected to the lifting arm and positioned to be held normally closed by pressure of water in the tank, said valve, when held closed, constituting means for restraining the submerged weight against actuation by the other weight, and means for forcibly unseating the outlet valve to release the submerged weight for actuation by the other weight to release water from the tank to the outlet, a pipe leading from the outlet, and a sleeve on the pipe providing a, watertrapping chamber, there being a port connecting the upper portion of the sleeve to said pipe and a smaller port connecting the'lower end of said sleeve to the pipe.

JAMES W. MATTHEWS. 

